Surgical cast cutter



July 14, 1942. J ETTlNGER 2,289,831

SURGICAL CAST CUTTER Filed Feb. 23, 1942 Fatented July 14-, 1942 UNETED STAT QEFIQE 6 Claims.

This invention relates to surgical applicances and has special reference to a plaster cast cutter of the type used in splitting or otherwise dividing plaster casts in order to enable them to be readily removed from the body of a patient.

Devices resembling a pair of shears or clips have been used for such purposes but these devices are difficult to operate because they tend to move, by wedging action, away from the cast being cut.

Other devices somewhat resembling circular saws have also been used but these devices, while superior in eiiiciency. to the shear type, are slow in operation and fail to urge the cutter toward the cast being cut.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel form of surgical castcutter whereby a plaster cast may be quickly and easily cut for removal. and wherein the formation and action of the cutting jaws is such as to tend to feed the cutter into the cast.

A second important object of the invention is to provide a cutter of this kind having a semilunate cutting jaw arranged to bite into the cast at a point spaced from the edge or previously cut part and to cut towards such edge or part thereby tending to pull the remaining jaw into the uncut portion of the cast.

A third important object of the invention is to provide a surgical cast cutter having a pair of jaws or blades one of which is provided with a shield or foot adapted to engage between the flesh of the patient and the cast to protect the patient, the foot being so grooved as to permit the point of the other jawto extend fully through the thickness of'the cast during the cutting operation.

With the above and other objects in view, as will be presently apparent, the invention consists in general of certain novel details of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing and specifically claimed.

In the accompanying drawing like characters of reference indicate like parts in the several A jaw and or head of the cutter, the View being taken to show the side opposite that shown in Figure 1.

In the embodiment of the invention a here shown there is provided a pair of arms l0 and H having their adjacent sides flat and their remote sides arcuate in cross-section. Each of these arms is provided at one end with a relatively thick head [2. The heads l2 have fiat contacting surfaces and a pivot bolt it passes through these heads so that the arms are pivotally connected at the head end of the device. It will be noted from Figure 2 that the arms l9 and I l are spaced from each other. This spacing of the arms permits relative oscillation, one with respect to the other, without risk of interference. Normally the arms iii and il incline upwardly from the head end of the device to the rear or handle end thereof as shown in Figure 1. When in the normal position the arm it terminates rearwardly in a handle of circular cross-section having a normally horizontally body portion [4 and an upwardly curved and rearwardly extending terminal portion. Similarly, the arm H has a handle having an upwardly and rearwardly extending body portion I5 and a rearwardly extending terminal portion ll inclined slightly downward from its junction with the body It. In plan (Figure 2) the body portions i4 and I6 diverge rearwardly from the arms Ill and H and the terminal portions i5 and H converge rearwardly from said body portions. The arm I I has a leg 58 extending vertically downward from its head and on the lower end of the leg l? is formed a foot i9 which extends rearwardly from the leg. The under side or sole 2th of the foot is convex both laterally as shown in Figure i and longitudinally as best seen in Figure 5.

The rear edge 2! of the leg is concavely curved and merges, at the ends of the curve, into the top of the foot l9 below and into the lower edge of the arm I l above. This edge is bevelled as at 22 to provide a cutting edge on the face adjacent the arm ifl. Extending downwardly from the head I2 of the arm 10 is a blade 23 of semilunate form disposed with its concave edge 24 forward and its convex edge 25 at the rear. The concave edge is bevelled on the side remote from the leg l8 to provide a cutting edge. The adjacent sides of the leg l8 and blade 23 are flat and constantly contact so that there is formed by this construction a pair of opposed concave cutting jaws one of which terminates at its free end in a sharp point. Because of the'fact, as will presently be seen, that the jaw formed on the leg I8 does not oscillate during operation of the device this jaw I8 is termed, for convenience, the fixed jaw. Similarly, since the blade 23 does oscillate during operation, the jaw formed thereby is termed the oscillatable jaw. At one part of its movement the point of the oscillatable jaw, by reason of the length of the blade, moves through an arc extending below the top surface of the foot I9 and, in order to afford clearance for this movement, a longitudinal groove 26 is formed in the upper side of the foot adjacent the leg l8. It is to be noted that the groove 26 has a flat side wall which lies in the plane of the flat side of the leg so that even the groove coacts with the blade 23 in the cutting operation since the fiat side of the blade contacts with the flat groove side at the latter portion of the cutting movement.

In order to render the operation clear there has been shown in broken lines in Figure 1 a portion C of a plaster cast and a portion L of a limb to which the cast has been applied. In use the jaws are opened as shown in broken lines in Figure 1 and the foot I9 is applied to the limb L adjacent one end of the cast C. The flesh of the limb is depressed slightly so that the rear end of the foot I8 can be slipped beneath the cast. As shown the point of the blade 23 will engage on top of the cast. The handle of arm III is now swung down. The point of the blade 23 will enter the cast and the blade will cut down through the cast. By reason of the arcuate motion given the blade 23 it will tend to urge the foot further under the cast C so that little tractive effort is needed, when the blade 23 is again opened, to draw the foot into position for a second cut or bite. The operation is continued until the entire length of the cast C has been out. It will be noted that the groove 26 allows the point of the oscillable jaw to pass entirely through the cast.

What is claimed is:

1. In a surgical cast cutter, a pair of pivotally connected cutting jaws having opposed concave cutting edges, one of said jaws constituting a leg, said leg having a foot formed thereon provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper face, one

side face of the groove being flat and the leg having a flat face coplanar with the said side face, the other of said jaws being of a length sufiicient to dip into said groove during a portion of its movement.

2. In a surgical cast cutter, a pair of pivotally connected cutting jaws having opposed concave cutting edges, one of said jaws constituting a leg, said leg having a foot formed thereon provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper face, one side face of the groove being flat and the leg having a flat face coplanar with the said side face, the other of said jaws being of a length suflicient to dip into said groove during a portion of its movement, said foot having its under surface convex both transversely and longitudinally.

3. In a surgical cast cutter, a pair of pivotally connected cutting jaws having opposed concave cutting edges, one of said jaws constituting a leg, said leg having a foot formed thereon provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper face, one side face of the groove being flat and the leg having a flat face coplanar with the said side face, the other of said jaws being of a length sufiicient to dip into said groove during a portion of its movement, said jaws having contacting heads at their pivotal connections, and laterally spaced arms radiating from said heads and provided at their ends with operating handles.

4. In a surgical cast cutter, a pair of pivotally connected cutting jaws having opposed concave cutting edges, one of said jaws constituting a leg, said leg having a foot formed thereon provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper face, one side face of the groove being flat and the leg having a flat face coplanar with the said side face, the other of said jaws being of a length suflicient to dip into said groove during a portion of its movement, said foot having its under surface convex both transversely and longitudinally, said jaws having contacting heads at their pivotal connections, and laterally spaced arms radiating from said heads and provided at their ends with operating handles.

5. In a surgical cast cutter, a pair of pivotally connected cutting jaws having opposed concave cutting edges, one of said jaws constituting a leg, said leg having a foot formed thereon provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper face, one side face of the groove being fiat and the leg having a fiat face coplanar with the said side face, the other of said jaws being of a length sufiicient to dip into said groove during a portion of its movement, said jaws having contacting heads at their pivotal connections, and laterally spaced arms radiating from said heads and provided at their ends with operating handles, said handles diverging from the arms and having converging rear portions, said handles being spaced throughout a greater distance than the arms.

6. In a surgical cast cutter, a pair of pivotally connected cutting jaws having opposed concave cutting edges, one of said jaws constituting a leg, said leg having a foot formed thereon provided with a longitudinal groove in its upper face, one side face of the groove being flat and the leg having a fiat face coplanar with the said side face, the other of said jaws being of a length sufficient to dip into said groove during a portion of its movement, said foot having its under surface convex both transversely and longitudinally, said jaws having contacting heads at their pivotal connections, and laterally spaced arms radiating from said heads and provided at their ends with operating handles, said handles diverging from the arms and having converging rear portions, said handles being spaced throughout a greater distance than the arms.

JOE J. ETTINGER. 

